Create a retirement savings tax credit for low incomes

Obama proposes expanded saver's credit

Updated: Monday, October 5th, 2009 | By Angie Drobnic Holan

In his budget for fiscal year 2010, President Barack Obama proposed a new saver's tax credit.

There are tax breaks in current law for low-income savers, but the tax credits are not refundable. That means if you don't owe any taxes, you don't get cash back. In theory this reduces your incentive to save.

"The proposal would make the saver’s credit fully refundable and would provide for the credit to be deposited automatically in the qualified retirement plan account or (individual retirement account) to which the eligible individual contributed," according to a statement from the U.S. Treasury Department. "Making the saver’s credit more like a matching contribution would enhance the likelihood that the credit would be saved and would increase the salience of the incentive by framing it as a match similar to the familiar employer matching contributions to 401(k) plans."

The Obama administration proposes that this measure would go into effect in 2011. Congress still needs to approve the measure. We rate it In the Works.

Sources:

U.S. Treasury Department, General Explanations of the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2010 Revenue Proposals, May 2009

Tax Policy Center, Tax Proposals in the 2010 budget, accessed Oct. 2, 2009